News and Speeches

Bank Street College of Education Leads Training Sessions to Prepare Teachers and Assistant Teachers for High Quality Pre-K

NEW YORK – Next month, the New York City Department of Education, in collaboration with Bank Street College of Education, will host four three-day Teacher Institutes for thousands of current and new full-day pre-K teachers and assistant teachers. This is one unified pre-K system across all programs—all current and new pre-K teachers and assistant teachers from public schools and Community Based Early Childhood Centers are encouraged to attend, and over two thousand teachers and assistant teachers have already registered for the Institute.

The Institute will be held in Queens and Brooklyn, and will serve as an exciting, meaningful step forward for New York City’s historic pre-K expansion program for the 2014-15 school year.

Bank Street has designed “Getting Ready for Pre-K: An Institute for Educators” to support a successful start to the school year by instructing participants on best practices for leading classrooms that foster young children’s cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. Participants will spend much of their time in small group sessions, actively engaging with education experts, early childhood materials and one another. Using Bank Street’s developmental interaction approach in alignment with the New York State Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core, participants will learn strategies to design a play and materials-based curriculum to effectively support children’s learning and growth.

“Class may be out for kids this summer, but it’s just starting for our pre-K teachers. No single ingredient matters more to a great classroom than an outstanding teacher, and that’s why we are investing like never before in training, coaching and professional support for our educators. That’s going to raise the quality of teaching in every classroom across the board. We’re excited to have partners like Bank Street sharing their decades of experience with the next generation of great pre-K teachers,” said Deputy Mayor Richard Buery.

“Bank Street is excited to partner with New York City’s pre-K teachers and assistant teachers to develop strategies for becoming the best teachers they can be,” said Dean of Bank Street Graduate School of Education Virginia Roach. “We believe that excellent early childhood education is vital to the healthy development and success of all children, and the expanded pre-K program is a tremendous step in the right direction for the future of New York City. Through the Institute, pre-K teachers will learn how to build a high quality educational foundation for the children in their classrooms.”

Participants at the Institute will receive guidance on how to address the diverse needs of children and their families, engage families from different backgrounds, and support students learning English and students with disabilities. Teachers and assistant teachers will learn strategies, such as selecting appropriate classroom materials and organizing schedules and predictable daily routines, which foster the creation of safe, supportive, and inclusive school communities for young children.

The Institute will also promote ongoing professional development, with teachers identifying goals for themselves and their classrooms, learning about professional development activities within the Department of Education, and joining a community of educators with whom they can continue to discuss classroom strategies and issues throughout the year.

Families can still apply for free full-day pre-K in their neighborhoods and receive alerts and information, visit nyc.gov/prek or text prek to 877877.

ABOUT BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATIONBank Street College of Education has been an acclaimed educational institution and advocate for children and families since its founding in 1916. For nearly a century, it has been a pioneer in studying how young children learn and develop, and in preparing educators to support life-long learning. Bank Street is uniquely structured as a free-standing, private Graduate School of Education, an on-site independent School for Children, and a broad range of professional development and social programs. Its mission is to improve the education of children and their teachers by connecting teaching and learning meaningfully to the outside world. Learn more at www.bankstreet.edu.